about

Customer demand that is clearly expressed in the marketplace can reverberate back through the supply chain and influence product design. However, it must cut through diversions created by marketing and misleading labelling in order to be effective.

There has been an increase in “green” products in the marketplace, but the green label often reflects greenwashing instead of actual environmental sustainability. Greenwashing is the promotion of a product using green buzzwords to deceive customers about the actual environmental sensitivity of the product. People are trying to make environmentally conscious choices but greenwashing is diverting and confusing their demand such that it appears as though people are satisfied with just the illusion of green. And so, the greenwashing loop persists.

Current environmental labels are too poorly defined to be useful. Their meaning is not clear to consumers, which leaves them vulnerable to greenwashing. A static definition of green is a statement that this is the best that we can do and it doesn’t inspire any further innovation.

It needs to be possible for people to express their demand for truly environmentally friendly products and services. We must send the message that the image of green is not enough. By choosing labels that provide extensive environmental information, we can expose greenwashing and direct demand towards a sustainable future.

The Canadian customer is bombarded with a myriad of vague eco-labels. This site seeks to delve into some of them to provide some clarity. Innovative labels from around the world are also included. Through this discussion, its hoped that we can come up with a set of labels in Canada that help people make the environmental choices they want to make.